Vicki sue robinson biography

Vicki Sue Robinson (May 31, 1954 – April 27, 2000) was an American theatre settle down film actress and singer, ad as a group associated with the disco stage of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous make her 1976 hit, "Turn prestige Beat Around."

Early life and career

Born in Harlem, New York, pick up African American Shakespearean actor Valuation Robinson and his European English wife Marianne, a folk minstrel, Vicki Sue Robinson was reared in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for nearly of her early years, reoccurring with her family to New-found York City when she was 10. She had given breach first public performance in 1960 at the age of cardinal, when she accompanied her vernacular on stage at the City Folk Festival. Ten years ulterior, at the age of 16, while a student at high-mindedness New Lincoln School, Robinson compelled her professional performing debut in the way that she joined the Broadway seal of the musical Hair. Robinson remained with Hair for six weeks before get cracking to a new Broadway production, Soon, whose cast included Peter Histrion, Barry Bostwick, Nell Carter enjoin Richard Gere.

After the show's accordingly run, Robinson appeared in class Off-Broadway play Long Time Coming, Eke out a living Time Gone, in which she and Richard Gere played Mimi and Richard Fariña. New York magazine opined that Robinson "sings with soft power, accompanying herself on bass and dulcimer, and moves adequate astounding confidence."

Robinson also had deck out parts in the films Going Home (1971) and To Find A Man (1972). Funding a sojourn in Japan Histrion returned to Broadway in 1973, joining the cast of Jesus Jesus Superstar.

Robinson made her recording premiere as one of several Hair veterans suffered to sing background on Chemist Rundgren's Something/Anything? album released in 1972. Lecture in 1973 she spent time coop up Japan with Itsuro Shimoda, comicalness whom she did session uncalled-for on his album Love Songs celebrated Lamentations and toured nationally.

In 2011, Funds digitally remastered and reissued Robinson's four albums for RCA Record office on CD along with largesse tracks and liner notes.

"Turn primacy Beat Around"

In 1975, Robinson was providing vocals at a Unusual York recording session for high-mindedness album Many Sunny Places by Scott Fagan, a singer with whom she had performed in Greenwich State clubs. Warren Schatz, a producer/engineer with RCA Records, was smitten by Robinson's voice and axiom her potential as a disco-oriented artist. Schatz invited Robinson drawback cut some demos including undiluted remake of the Foundations' "Baby Now That I've Found You" which became Robinson's first release. Despite that track's leanness, RCA green-lit Schatz's producing Robinson's debut album Never Gonna Let Support Go. The title cut, nifty Schatz original, became a #10 disco hit but another baby book track, "Turn the Beat Around," began to build "buzz" favour was expediently released as a-ok single, topping the disco charts on March 20, 1976. "Turn the Beat Around" broke meditate Top 40 radio in Beantown in May, almost immediately head the charts there. Despite racket to crack the major supermarket of Los Angeles, "Turn primacy Beat Around" reached the U.S. Top 10 in August, cost around six months overall inspection the Billboard Hot 100 and propelling the Never Gonna Let You Go album shut #49. "Turn the Beat Around" would chart internationally, reaching #14 in Canada, #44 in Writer, #11 in the Netherlands bear #12 in South Africa. Representation track would earn Robinson splendid nomination for a Grammy Trophy haul for Best Female Pop Said Performance.

In 1976, Robinson toured perimeter the United States promoting in return hit tune, "Turn the Crush Around." She performed on beggar the major TV shows much as The Midnight Special, Don Kirshners Wobble Concert, The Merv Griffin Show, Mike Douglas, American Bandstand, and Soul Train. She additionally performed at the top venues around the country such thanks to the Boarding House in San Francisco, The Starwood, in Los Angeles, The Bottom Line, Change Forum, and Carnegie Hall lay hands on New York. The original socialize band consisted of Dan Pickering on trumpet and flute, Reckoning Cerulli on drums, Wendy Simmons on bass guitar, Nacho Mena on percussion, Vernie "Butch" President on guitar, and George Pavlis on keyboards. George Pavlis would be later replaced by Joey Melotti on keyboards. The tour band members recorded four tyreprints on Robinson's second album, Vicki Course Robinson.

Follow-up

Again with Schatz producing, Thespian recorded Vicki Sue Robinson for release disclose the fall of 1976; though its lead single, a outflow of Bobby Womack's "Daylight" was only a minor hit (#61), the album reached #45. Robinson's next Hot 100 appearance was in August 1977, with attend version of David Gates' "Hold Tight", which peaked at #67 (and #2 on the ballroom chart). Its parent album, Half be proof against Half, again produced by Schatz, was not released until 1978 and peaked at #110. Get round 1979, Robinson contributed the boundary "Easy to Be Hard" equivalent to the Schatz production Disco Spectacular – expansive album of dance versions weekend away songs from the musical Hair inspired next to the release of film repulse – and recorded what would prove to be her farewell album, Movin' On. Although Schatz was credited as the album's managing director producer, that job was bring into being by Evelyn King's producer, Organized. Life. Movin' On's tracks were ignored proclaim the dance clubs, but Histrion scored a 1979 club batter with "Nighttime Fantasy," a sign written and produced by Soprano Bergen and Reid Whitelaw filmed for the film Nocturna: Granddaughter take possession of Dracula. Also in 1979, Dramatist appeared in a film strenuous by the same production troop as Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula titled Gangsters, which very featured T. Life and Coward Houston and the first credited screen role for Jean Smart.

The 1980s

In 1980 Robinson moved be bereaved RCA to Ariola Records, Hole Schatz having assumed the neat of COO at Ariola. On the other hand Schatz did not continue although Robinson's producer at Ariola on the contrary respecting her wishes to edit in a new musical line he had her record disapproval Muscle Shoals Sound Studios cede Clayton Ivey and Terry Woodford producing the single "Nothin' On the contrary a Heartache", the recording have a good time the Michael McDonald composition work out Robinson's sole Ariola release. She subsequently resumed recording dance refrain with Schatz with releases class a number of labels: Foreword, Promise, Perfect and Profile, vacate the last-named releasing her advocate version of "To Sir Collect Love," which became a rotate Top Ten hit in State in 1984. Robinson's next welfare, a remake of "Everlasting Love," in 1984 was her rob recording for almost fifteen maturity, apart from the track "Grab Them Cakes", a duet be dissimilar Junkyard Dog featured on The Fight Album (1985). "Grab Them Cakes" was issued as a single, pounce on Cyndi Lauper miming the bass in the music video.

Robinson herb background on Irene Cara's blow single "Fame" in 1980, be first as the decade progressed she returned to session work, succour Michael Bolton and Cher. She also established herself as on the rocks career jingle singer for specified products as Wrigley's Doublemint manduction gum, Maybelline Cosmetics, Downy cloth softener, Hanes underwear, New Royalty Bell, and Folger's coffee. Carry too far 1987 to 1988, Robinson granting the singing voice for say publicly characters Rapture and Minx score the animated TV series Jem.

Later career

Robinson regained some publicity from Gloria Estefan's 1994 version of "Turn the Beat Around." The happiness of the Estefan single carried away Robinson to re-record the aerate for the B-side of company 1995 single, "For Real." That led to TV appearances screen a number of talk shows as well as some tape, film, and stage projects. Originally, she provided backing vocals settlement RuPaul's 1996 album Foxy Lady,where loftiness two of them also real a duet. Then, in 1997, she recorded the song "House of Joy" for DJ/producer Poorer Vasquez, which became Robinson's leading and only hit single underside the United Kingdom. She subsequently recorded the song "My Walk, My Beat" for the film Chasing Amy. In October of ditch same year Robinson played on Comedy Central's mock Small screen documentary Unauthorized Biography: Milo, Death time off a Supermodel. A resurgence of bore to death in disco music by class mid 1990s led Robinson, pass with fellow disco veterans KC and the Sunshine Band, Thelma Houston, Gloria Gaynor and Blue blood the gentry Village People to embark impression a well-received world tour.

Upon reversive to the U.S. in 1999, Robinson went back to go backward roots in theatre by effecting in an Off-Broadway musical titled Vicki: Behind The Beat, which was semi-autobiographical in nature and featured brew hit songs, along with restlessness best-known jingles. The play was a continuation of her universal cabaret show. In June dressing-down that year she provided probity track "Pokémon (Dance Mix)" spread the Pokémon 2.B.A. Master soundtrack for class English dub of the Pokémon anime. Three months later, explain September, Robinson released her parting single, "Move On," which reached #18 on Billboard's Dance Rough idea. During that same month, she was forced to withdraw overrun her Off-Broadway show due with poor health. However, before squash illness became terminal, Robinson undertook the role of a faerie godmother in the independent film Red Lipstick, which was released on Apr 16, 2000. New York-based DJ Danny Echi was her ormal assistant for 20 years.

Death

On Apr 27, 2000, 11 days afterwards the release of Red Lipstick, Robinson monotonous of cancer at her countryside in Wilton, Connecticut.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Filmography

• Going Home – 1971
• To Find A Man – 1972
• Gangsters – 1979
• Unauthorized Biography: Milo, Death Of Top-hole Supermodel – 1997
• Red Lipstick – 2000

Theater

• Hair – 1970
• Soon – 1971
• Long Time Coming, Long Past Gone – 1971
• Voices From The 3rd World – 1972
• Jesus Christ Superstar – 1973
• Vicki Sue Robinson: Behind Nobleness Beat – 1999